Glass-Panel Scans

I had the pleasure of lunch several years ago with one of the designers of the Boeing 777 cockpit. She said something that has stuck with me for years: Good design obviates the need for training. Held up to this standard, our efforts for GA glass cockpits are a dismal failure. (Perhaps the 777 cockpit is as well; I dont know.)

jwanwest

Tuesday, December 02, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots transitioning to glass cockpits need to adapt their scan techniques, focusing on specific visual cues (e.g., triangles for pitch/bank, using bugs for altitude/heading) to maintain stable flight.
Effective use of glass panels involves prioritizing the "track" over heading for precise course keeping and strategically organizing multi-function display information for faster retrieval.
The article emphasizes maintaining scanning proficiency even with autopilot use and developing a disciplined, focused scan on critical flight elements, especially during high-workload phases like the final approach.

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I had the pleasure of lunch several years ago with one of the designers of the Boeing 777 cockpit. She said something that has stuck with me for years: “Good design obviates the need for training.” Held up to this standard, our efforts for GA glass cockpits are a dismal failure. (Perhaps the 777 cockpit is as well; I don’t know.)

Looking just at the Primary Flight Display (PFD) portion of a system like the Avidyne Entegra or the Garmin G1000, things fare a bit better. Pilots competent on traditional flight instruments can find most of what they need in a few minutes. Some things take some explaining—”Where’s my rate of turn on this infernal thing?”—but keeping the plane upright is never in doubt.